Free hepatitis C testing is available Tuesday afternoon at the SOLID Drop-in Centre on Pandora Avenue.
A $10 incentive is being offered to anyone tested. A barbeque and cold drinks are on offer.
Cool Aid Community Health Centre, SOLID, and AVI Health and Community Services are
“Testing for hep C is quick, easy, and accurate, and offers the best opportunity to eliminate hep C for good,” says Tracey Robertson, Cool Aid’s community event manager.
Treatment — which has few side effects — cures 95 per cent of people living with hep C in eight to 12 weeks, she said, adding treatment consists of a series of pills — either three per day for eight weeks or one per day for 12 weeks.
One-quarter of people with hep C do not realize they have it, Robertson said.
Since 2014, Cool Aid’s health centre has treated more than 900 people for hep C.
Since Cool Aid launched outreach testing in May 2022, it has carried out 1,375 hep C tests. Of the 56 cases of hep C identified so far, 44 patients started treatment and 22 people have been cured to date, it says.
People can go to the health centre for testing or get tested through special events such as the one on Tuesday. So far, 76 testing events have been staged.
Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus.
If left untreated, it can lead to serious health problems including liver damage, cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
Worldwide, hep C affects more than 56.8 million people, including approximately 200,000 Canadians at last count, in 2019.
For testing and treatment, call Cool Aid at 250-385-1466.
The testing event is set for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 926 Pandora Ave.
